Japanese Special Attack (Kamikaze) aircraft are well know, but not very good described in the literature. This book is the first in English on this subject. Details are provided of a wide selection of historic machines and fascinating colour schemes, as well as full technical details.

Erratum and apology - Matt Willis was largely responsible for editing this book and converting the initial translation into acceptable English.

We sincerely apologise for leaving his name off the editorial team listed in the book - an oversight on our part.

This larger format book (8 ź inches x 12 inches) covers all aircraft and flying bombs used by the Japanese Navy and Army Air Forces in WWII. The book is broken down into sections covering the history and culture of Kamikaze. The effectiveness of the kamikaze program and the various aircraft and flying bombs by type and service are also covered.

The first 60 pages cover the reasoning behind the development of kamikaze special attack squadrons. The high-ranking officials who came up with and implemented the concept as well as their ultimate fates are also covered. There is a good description of the ceremony performed by both Navy and Army squadrons prior to missions and more in-depth coverage of Kamikaze attacks in the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa and in defense of the home islands.

There is a good assessment of the effectiveness and futility of the Kamikaze attacks. In 1944-45 there were 106 Kamikaze attack missions that destroyed 56 Allied ships and damaged 368 at the cost of 3913 Japanese pilots of both services. Their greatest effect was the "shock value" of the suicide attacks on Allied psyche as materially they were not very significant.

The bulk of the remainder of the book deals with the individual aircraft types used for kamikaze attacks by both services. Not only are descriptions and performance information given but also details of each types use as a Kamikaze aircraft in the various battles. There are many photos included that enhance this section as well as scale drawings, too. It was here that I discovered one small problem that has more to do with the printing than anything else, the drawings on page 202 covering the Maru-ke models 101,106 and 109 are printed so lightly as to be almost invisible. This can hopefully be corrected with the next printing. Coverage is also given to the balloon bombs set adrift to drop on the US mainland as well as remote controlled flying bombs and piloted flying bombs like the "Baka".

The book finishes off with 23 pages of color profiles of all the aircraft and bomb types mentioned in the book. Each is of the superb quality we have come to expect from MMP. This book provides a wealth of information, much of which was not available before to those of us outside of Japan. The previously unpublished photographs also add to the appeal of this book.

There is much here in this well researched volume for the aviation historian, WWII historian and Japanese aviation buff alike more so than the modeler. There is still a good bit of info in the drawings and profiles that modelers will find useful, but at 24.99 GBP I really feel that the former rather than the latter is this books target audience.

Amazon.ca  2013-09-05

Amazon.com customer review  2013-09-05

4.0 out of 5 stars

A Must Have on the Subject!, February 12, 2010

By Robert E. McElroy (Niceville, FL)

What a great book. The research and material that is in this book is AWESOME. VEry well done. And the pictures are of great help too. Upon receiving this book in the mail, I was suprised at the size. It is "BIG" and full of information. It is a must have for the historian of the Pacific War, as well as the scale modeler. Well worth it's price .

Amazon.com customer review (3)  2013-09-05

Excellent Book August 14, 2012

By David Boles

Great detail on both the design and operational issues.
Unique perspective on the Japanese aircraft industry during the war.
Unique photographs and excellent line drawings.
Detailed account of the plans for future designs. ( that were not materialized )
All of this written from the Japanese perspective.

What a great book. The research and material that is in this book is AWESOME. VEry well done. And the pictures are of great help too. Upon receiving this book in the mail, I was suprised at the size. It is "BIG" and full of information. It is a must have for the historian of the Pacific War, as well as the scale modeler. Well worth it's price .

MAI 49-64  2013-09-05

AIM 2010-1  2013-09-05

Cybermodeler.com  2013-09-05

By Ray Mehlberger

Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) is based in Redbourn, Herts, UK. They are in partnership with Stratus Publications, who is based in Sandomierz, Poland. MMP has Stratus print their books in English.

This latest book from MMP describes the philosophy and operational demands that led to the introduction of suicide attacks by Japanese pilots late in WWII. These were the so-called “Kamikaze” operations. Details of the operations and their effectiveness, the aircraft utilized, and the personalities of the major commanding officers directing these attacks, are all described and illustrated.

In addition, Japanese development of flying bombs, missiles and even balloon attacks on the U.S. mainland are described. Operations and aircraft of both the Japanese Imperial Navy and the Army are covered, both the normal aircraft adapted for suicide use and the novel designs planned specifically for such missions, plus the many programs underway or planned up to the end of the war.

Many years of research in Japan, and access to previously hidden material, has allowed the authors to cover the history of this remarkable campaign in fascinating detail.

The book is done in soft-cover format of 264 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page size. This book has the most pages of any of the MMP books on aircraft that I have seen to date.

It contains 194 black and white wartime photos. Twelve of these are shots of Japanese officers that were involved in suicide operations. There is one shot of a Japanese flag that has been signed by all the pilots in a particular kamikaze group. There are 19 pages of data lists, 10 side-profile line drawings in 1/72nd scale, 5 1/72nd line drawings as 2-views, 6 as 4-views, 10 as 3-views, 2 as 5-views, 1 as a 6-view and 2 as 7-views.

There are 2 1/48th scale line drawing 2-views and a side-profile and a 4-view in 1/100th scale.

Finally, there are other line drawings to no particular scale: 10 of these are profiles, 3 are 3-views, 4 are 4-views, 5 are 5-views and there is one 6-view.

A illustration of the dashboard of the M6A1-K Nanzan’s instrument panel, with labels telling the names of the parts is included out of a technical manual. At the rear of the book, are 43 color profiles of aircraft, rockets and bombs used by the Special Attack groups.

This is one very definitive book about this subject. It will be a invaluable reference source for aircraft historians and enthusiasts, and scale modelers.

Very highly recommended.

amazon.co.uk  2013-09-05

www.broadlyboats.com  2013-09-05

DATE: 150509

DESCRIPTION

From a special interests publisher addressing the model engineers and model makers Mushroom Model Publications have expanded into the production of fine history titles. This new book, No 9101 in their White Series, is a fine example of their work. The co-authors have conducted a painstaking research of a subject that has received little detailed investigation. They have followed the story of Japanese special attack aircraft and unguided missiles during the Second World War. In all armed forces there are selfless acts by individuals where the act is in effect suicide with the individual giving life to protect comrades, or to achieve an objective against the heaviest odds. Less commonly some armed forces deliberately employ suicide as part of their battle line. The Japanese Kamikase pilots of WWII were one of these suicide forces. Their actions have given them great prominence in history and at the time of their deployment they created a serious threat to the over whelming Allied forces closing in on the Japanese home islands. As with Britain in 1940 a strong enemy was sweeping opposition aside and eventual defeat looked probable. Although Britain did not deliberately establish suicide squads, it came very close to the concept and many individuals deliberately gave their lives in pressing home attacks on a stronger enemy. Where Britain was able to concentrate on blunting attack and preventing invasion, in the knowledge that eventually the United States would be brought into the war in support against Germany, Japan had no such prospect in sight, rather the number of countries ranged against the Japanese forces was increasing. Like Britain, Japan had few natural resources within the heavily populated home islands and the advancing enemy was restricting the flow of raw materials for aircraft, ship and arms production. This encouraged desperate attempts to construct aircraft without using rare materials that would normally be employed. The authors have captured this situation and detailed what must be the definitive study of Kamikase and missile design and production in the closing years of the war. Many readers will be surprised by the number of designs and modifications used to build a fleet of weapons of last resort. From the early efforts to modify fighters and bombers to carry heavy explosive loads on a one way flight to the target, Japanese engineers and airmen developed both very crude and simple aircraft that used few resources and could be flown with minimum skill to advanced jet and rocket powered machines. As in Britain and Germany, desperation encouraged an increasing number of designs at a time when concentration on a very small number might have produced more effective weapons. In the final event, the Japanese Kamikaze pilots were unable to provide a credible costly delay to an enemy that was able to deliver nuclear weapons, turning the targets into wastelands and reducing the need to land troops. The story is well told, the detail is excellent and the work is presented in A4 with the use of colour and mono images. There are detailed drawings for which MMP titles are admired and there is material for the model maker and the student of military history. This book provides some very novel subjects for modellers and a fascinating historical insight into an aspect of the air war that has not been covered adequately before.

FILE: R1554

GENRE:Non fiction

www.secretprojects.co.uk  2013-09-05

lark

Senior Member

CLEARANCE: Top Secret

I just finished reading 'Japanese Special Attack Aircraft&Flying bombs.

To start with,the least I can say is,this is an excellent book.
In several brief chapters , the reader is introduced in the history
and tradition of the 'special attack'
Of course,the main part of the book is devoted to the planes used
or proposed for this kind of warfare.Not only the familiar Navy and Army
aircraft,but also the lesser known and projected designs are described
and illustrated in great detail.Many photo's,a lot of them unseen before
and very detailed drawings give a clear view of their evolution.
The last chapters of the book deal with the remote controled flying bombs
and torpedos of the Japanese Navy and Army.
In a few cases,the well known 'X-factor' comes into play,but this is
mentioned as such by the authors.
The book concludes with a series of high quality colour profiles
and an extensive literature list.
There is no index,but a detailed and comprehensive contents table.

The authors must be congratulated with their profound research which
results in a very complete book.
Aimed at the English reading public,I'm convinced that it will become
a major reference work in the years to come.

hyperscale.com  2013-09-05

Reviewed by Steve Zaloga

F i r s t R e a d

For anyone interested in Kamikaze aircraft, especially the special attack designs of 1945, Tadeusz Januszewski’s “Lotnicy smierci i ich samoloty” (Death pilots and their aircraft) published by Lampart in Poland in 1993 has remained one of the few sources of information except for some even more obscure Japanese publications. Fortunately, Januszewski has now collaborated with Ryusake Ishiguro in Japan on this much expanded book which will be far more accessible to more readers since it is entirely in English. This new Mushroom book is in large, A4 format soft-cover and clocks in at 264 pages of which over 20 pages are color profiles. It completely supersedes the earlier Lampart book both in detail, production value, and depth of coverage.

The first section (up to page 63) is about the more conventional Special Attack units which used conventional aircraft fitted with bombs for suicide attacks against US warships. There is some nice fresh material in this section not available in the usual English language sources. I would have liked to have seen more order of battle material and more detail on specific famous attacks, but I suspect that the average aviation reader will find the coverage to be fine.

The remainder of the books shifts to encyclopedia treatment of the many Special Attack Aircraft. This covers some conventional aircraft converted to Special attack configurations, not the commonplace “Zero-with-a-bomb”, but rather the bombers and other types that had more extensive modifications to enhance their lethality.

Probably the main attraction of this book for most readers will be the extensive coverage of the numerous and little known special design aircraft ranging from crude home-builts through sophisticated jet-designs. These sections are a nice blend of descriptive material along with scale plans that ought to keep most modelers happy. Photo coverage is good, but not great. Lets face it, photo coverage of this subject is never going to be very good and this book contains a fine selection of rare gems. On the other hand, I found coverage in some areas such as the Ohka to be a bit weak with too much reliance on copies of photos from poorly printed reports instead of the original photos.

Personally, I found the “paper project” portions of the book a bit stronger and more intriguing than the sections that deal with types that actually saw combat or came close to seeing combat. For example, the Ohka section is certainly competent, but having done a bit of research in this area, I found it a bit lackluster.

One of the real gems in the book is a superb section on Japanese air-to-surface missile design. This will probably be a bit obscure for most readers, but it was worth the price of admission as far as I was concerned.

The color plates are well executed and cover a variety of converted conventional aircraft as well as the special designs. I have mixed feelings about the “Kamikaze 1946” plates covering types such as the Ohka Type 43 which are shown in much more exotic color schemes than their more mundane (but real) ancestors.

C o n c l u s i o n

All in all, a superb book and an absolute must for anyone interested in this fascinating aspect of World War II aviation.

Americans readers (and those in Australia, NZ, etc.) may want to wait until a local source becomes available as the cost of the book (plus high European postage), makes it a good deal more expensive than it will be once it reaches the States. It is currently listed as being available from Amazon.com.uk

ModelingMadness.com  2013-09-05

by Scott Van Aken

Though there have been a couple of other books in Mushroom Model Publications' "White Series" this is the first that was planned and it is very much well worth the wait. Information on Japanese subjects is difficult to come by in the West, especially as much official documentation was destroyed by the Japanese at the end of the war. This makes research particularly difficult and often times, it is what was kept by individuals that has allowed any meaningful material to come forth after all these decades.

One area of warfare that was perfectly logical to the Japanese at that time was one of self-sacrifice for the greater good. It is one that is not a standard Western way of doing things and one that caused a considerable amount of anxiety and fear when on the receiving end of this sort of warfare. During WWII in the Pacific, the Kamikaze or Divine WInd attacks on mostly American ships and aircraft during the last year of the war very much had an effect on US plans.

Though other books have covered a portion of the subject, Mushroom Model Publications looks not only at the attacks themselves, but the equipment used in these attacks as well as Japan's attempts at producing aerial bombs.

Within its 264 pages are a look at the various attacks carried out by both the Army and the Navy against US targets. This section is complete with tables showing the various missions and their eventual effect. The next section is on standard aircraft modified for the mission as well as those either specially built or under development for the role. Again, it is divided into Army and Navy aircraft. This was quite an eye-opener for me as it dealt with aircraft and sub-types of which I was not aware before. The same goes for the section on flying bombs. For the first time I can recall, here is a run down of those weapons under development or used by the Japanese during WWII. Few of these were actually used in combat, and those that were did not have the sort of affect that the Japanese would have hoped to have seen. Nonetheless, it is all here in one place for the first time. No MMP book would be complete without the usual superb three view illustrations and full color profiles we have all come to expect.

Overall, it is a most complete look at the subject and is a totally engrossing read. It has my vote as one of the top books of 2009 and I'm sure you will feel the same way about it once you get it in your hands and start reading.

June 2009

Aeroplane November 2009  2013-09-05

www.aerostories.org  2013-09-05

Phil Listemann

“Kamikaze”, that’s a word which means a lot of things today. The Allies learned the definition of this word by the hard way in 1944. Still today, many are still trying to understand how those pilots were able to sacrifice their life in numbers, recalling that this was not thinkable in any western country.

If many articles or books have been written on this topic, most have been written by non-Japanese people, being consequently sometimes far from the true spirit of the Kamikaze. That is why this book is interesting, because it is basically written by a Japanese, more able to catch the feeling and spirit of the Kamikaze and to try to bring some explanations. The first part of this book is dedicated to the building up of the Kamikaze and the narration of the missions against the Allied ships. I was not imaging that so much photos were available, most coming from Japanese side, a very good surprise indeed. If the results of the Kamikaze actions are pretty well known, the authors give the details of the ships sunk by the Kamikaze but also the ships enough damaged to be obliged to be sent away for repairs, sometime until the end of the war. Consequently, in obliging some ship to leave the combat zone, the Kamikaze reached a part of they goal, even if the first goal was to sink any ship around. Beside the total losses, it must be recalled that many ships were also hit, killing a lot of sailors on board and their numbers must not be forgotten either. In this first part, the author give a list of all the Kamikaze units and they fought, giving a good reference to anyone.

The second part of the book is more technical and gives the equipment used by the Kamikaze to conduct their deadly attacks and the numerous projects under way when the War ended in 1945. It is interesting to notice that the Japanese were working on some very technically advanced projects (missiles, jet and flying bombs) which were living alongside some more basic projects like the bomber balloons. In any case, anyone would be able to see that the Japanese industry remained ambitious until the end of the war. This part contains numerous line drawings and colour profiles to illustrate this part in the best way as it can be.

In starting reading this book of 264 pages, you are rapidly caught in the middle of the action, and will passionate any historians even if the Japanese aviation is not your main field of interest and far to be (and it is my case !). I have learned many things in reading this book, and if you want to have a good approach of the Kamikaze, this book is probably the best one today and it is available at a very competitive price.

Highly recommended

KokuFan No.680  2013-09-05

(Translation of the review)

A directory of Japanese special attack aircraft and weapons, the result of a collaboration between an enthusiastic Japanese aircraft historian in Poland and a Japanese researcher. The content is very detailed and full of photos and drawings. I was very impressed with the efforts and enthusiasm of the historian in distant Eastern Europe.

{------------------------------------------}

The release was delayed until this year, but by the close teamwork between Mr. Ishiguro, the Japanese who collected information and keeps researching, and Mr. Januszewski, the Polish enthusiast who likes Japanese aircraft, this wonderful book was published.

{-------------------------------------------}

Many photos, including both familiar and rare ones, are included with many drawings and illustrations. The last 24 pages are for color side illustrations of 60 aircraft. We can say the satisfaction level is terrific.

KokuFan No.680 - original scan  2013-09-05

Scale Aviation vol.68  2013-09-05

Scale Aviation vol.68 - translation  2013-09-05

(Scale Aviation vol.68)

This is a comprehensive book about the Japanese Army and Navy special attack aircraft and missiles, which Mr. Ryusuke Ishiguro, a Japanese researcher, and a Polish researcher wrote in collaboration. Besides converted aircraft like Ki-48 and Ki-67 To-Got, it introduces dedicated special attack aircraft such as the Ki-115, Seiran, Kikka, etc.

As for the Ohka in particular, many variations are illustrated and photos of various parts of captured Ohka in Okinawa are included. It is the first time that these photos of this suicide attack glider have been published.

As for missiles, I-Go 1 Ko and Otsu are included. The photos of the Ki-102 as its mother plane are very rare.

j-aircraft.com  2013-09-05

by questionmark

Mushroom Model Publications, 2009

Ryusuke Ishiguro & Tadeusz Januszewski

8 1/4" x 11 11/16" x 11/16"

2lbs 2oz

59 color-toned side-profiles (inc. 7 different guided-missiles)

200 photos

Innumerable multi-view line-drawings (inc. a few isometrics, interior cutaways, intended flight-paths, and fusing-schedules for some guided-missiles)

While Rene Francillon's classic: "Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific Pacific War" is still to be considered 'foundational' for introducing the Japanese aircraft subject to the serious English-language reader: no book has treated the "Kamikaze" subject the way this one does; none even come close. Moreover, the singular treatment given to it, here, is a labor not likely to be overtaken in the foreseeable future.

Firstly: "Japanese Special Attack Aircraft and Flying bombs" is not about "Kamikazes" per se. Only 55 pages actually describe these macabre operations, while the next 136 pages expose the most bazarre technical adaptations of aircraft known to historical experience, while another 43 pages unveil pilotless vehicles. A "Popular Mechanics" reader might feel more at home here, than would any mere "warstory & camouflage" enthusiast, unless he can technically grow up. (if he would, he joins all the other readers, in finding more than he had bargained for.) Impeccably organized: everything is so refined in presentation and clarity, even the most squeamished reader could digest its special subject matter (like good food and wine), and be all the wiser for it.

The first part shows how the late-war strategic picture, atavistic codes of honor, and very specific personalities all had to be present (together), to underlie the decision to adopt the 'unconventional' means of defense we're all familiar with. (I surmise: had any one of these elements been missing, the Kamikaze experience would have never taken place.) Despite the unprecedented mayhem, its proponents became dismayed at the expenditures per actual results and the lack of change in any strategic situation. This first part thoughtfully narrarates through, then summarizes: major units committed, mission-profiles adopted, sorties expended, and the results gained, for each of these efforts: campaign by campaign, with quite exact tabulations, and pulling no punches. (A more cogent narraration of these episodes cannot elsewhere be found.) From here, the book enters its much larger weapons-specific sphere.

The second 'area' now leads the reader into the bizarre technical world of special aircraft and modifications. No stone is unturned in the tour-de-force through every conceived aircraft and their mods: many quite 'rational' even "innovative' given the mission-profiles fated to them! Not all of them were earmarked for one-way expenditures. "Special Attack" did not inevitably mean suicide, and this book's exposition also succeeds in making such misplaced notions of this 'catagory' erroneous. "Special-attack" aircraft (and their mods) were couched within requirements tailored to bring-out their best 'niche' and the book carefully individualizes them, one by one. Curious pictures (117) highlight this section, along with a score of the most vital projects - expanded into various multi-view line drawings showing all their possible 'options' (using a draftsman's perspective). Like the first section, this part also pulls no romantic punches in revealing their constraints, i.e., nascent turbojet & rocket powerplants: no promising craft can ever be better than the engine assigned to it, some become all the worst for it.

The 'last' part is, without doubt, the most uncanny section - and subject-wise - the least reckoned by even the most serious aficionados. The astonished reader witnesses a truly unprecedented display of Hi-Tech, Japanese-style: balloons, remote/self-guided air-to-bomber, air-to-ship, ground-to-bomber, and ground-to-ship missiles sporting an assortment of various radar, radio, acoustic-wave, and Infrared target-aquisition & directing methods. Viewing their photos (28) and their test-bed aircraft (inc. a few of their fusing & control components) is an unaccustomed experience - strange looking 'craft' not looking normal on anyone's WWII-era airfield! While citing exact research institutes and experts (by name), the book pulls no Disneyland punches here, also: describing their problematics, sparing no failures. Descriptive material configurations, cutaway interiors, flight-path constraints, remote-management of control-parameters (within flight-event windows), required critical-event sequences, are variously detailed. But the authors permit nothing 'speculative' here, only the factual things.

So let me be speculative: Had Code-MAGIC never existed (thereby delaying the Allied envelopment of Japan, by up to two-years?), Japan might have attained another 'infamy' - that of being history's first combatant to employ mass-volleys of guided-missiles (esp. using Infrared technology) using all-four mission-modes: surface-to-surface, surface-to-air, air-to-air, air-to-surface. Whilst America and Germany were aiming their new-fangled missiles and bombs primarily with radar, radio, wire, even TV guided methods, Japan became the most committed combatant (after Germany) to prioritize passive-IR (self-contained infrared) as a primary first-choice of a missile's target-acquisition & flight-control, equal to the other methods. Already by 1945, Japan's commitment to IR-avionics seemed to have already surpassed the United States, possibly even Germany! (at least in R&D entrustment, if not in technical-progress.) So I must further speculate: How much did Japan's wartime IR avionics R&D further encourage the USN and USAF to persevere with their own IR-avionics after the war?

Fairly large and heavy as a paperback: "Japanese Special Attack Aircraft and Flying Bombs" easily seems the most important English-language publication on any Japanese aviation subject in 39 years, and possibly the most revealing of all time. Moreover, it seems the first historiography to ultimately situate the "Kamikaze" episode into its larger strategic 'necessity' involving the entire 'national-technical-means' (a hackneyed term nowadays). This more encompassing evolutionary picture, no longer privileges the crude 'life-expending' (popular) image still maintained about Japan's final means of defense, any more than it could for its original protagonists, who were about to be obsoleted by their own country's nascent guided-missile technologies, from R&D hardware-projects already begun, in-earnest, months before the first Kamikazes took off!

Betwixt dread and yearning doth all life finds itself,

Robert

P.S. Although not mentioned in the book, even SONY's co-founder: the world-renowned entrepreneur
Akio Morita, also got drafted into Japan's pioneering 'thermal' target-acquisition projects (involving fire 'n' forget missiles and night-vision gunsights), as a junior navy officer. Assigned to the avionics research laboratory@Yokosuka (as a recently-promoted IJN-lieutenant), he was a 1944 physics-major from Osaka Imperial University.

www.straggleresearch.com  2013-09-05

Authoritative English-language reference books on Japanese aviation subjects are rare and precious things but Japanese Special Attack Aircraft & Flying Bombs is an absolute gem. Authors Ryusuke Ishiguro and Tadeusz Januszewski have achieved a comprehensive exploration of a subject little known and hitherto poorly documented in English. Enhanced with unique and well chosen photographs the book provides a thorough and useful overview of special attack operations, from the culture behind the Kamikaze concept to a list of special attack units and the ships damaged or sunk by them.

The main body of the hefty 264 page book is logically divided into separate analyses of special attack aircraft and remote controlled flying bombs, covered subject by subject and organised by Army and Navy respectively. Of particular value to modellers are the scale drawings included for many of these. There are in addition diagramatic illustrations and performance tables. Finally a colour profile section by Zygmunt Szeremeta provides no less than 59 inspiring and colourful subjects, including depictions of the various flying bombs. It is as well to bear in mind that these are interpretations and however much one might disagree with some of the specific colours chosen and/or reproduced there is a paucity of available evidence to confirm them one way or the other. They are therefore perfectly valid to use as direct references for individual modelling projects - and very useful to.

Many of the photographs in this book are new to me. For example I had no idea that the Kawasaki Ki-102 heavy fighter "Randy" was used as the carrier aircraft for trials of the I-Go-1-Otsu (Ki-148) guided missile. If only there was a better (and more easily assembled) kit of this good looking twin than the Pavla example and that the Fine Molds missile kits were more readily available!

The book includes better known and popular modelling subjects like the Nakajima Kikka, Japan's surrogate Me 262, which is covered in 15 pages of text, with 14 photographs, 1/72nd scale plans, two colour profiles and a performance table. This depth of coverage sets the standard for this book which must be considered definitive and essential for anyone interested in the subject or the history of Japanese aviation generally. The Ohka rocket-propelled bomb receives similar coverage and benefits from recent revelations regarding appearance and colour. But in addition to these more mainstream subjects there is a host of lesser-known but equally fascinating types.

If I have any criticism of this excellent and wonderful book it is just a very slight concern that the softcover binding method might not prove resilient enough for its size, weight and likely usage. Personally I would have been prepared to pay a little more to have had such a useful reference book available in hardcover.

The authors can be justifiably proud of this superlative achievement. It is very highly recommended.